


You're the Only One that I Want (Think I'm Addicted to Your Light)

by wanderingone



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, Not Beta Read, Post-Canon, Rebels, fire lord and ambassador, really just a tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28526352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingone/pseuds/wanderingone
Summary: After a fight with a rebel branch, Zuko confronts Katara as to why she decided to storm them by herself. Feelings are dredged up.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57
Collections: zutara (ATLA)





	You're the Only One that I Want (Think I'm Addicted to Your Light)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! After posting my previous fic, I find that writing leisurely like this can be cathartic. So, here I am, once again ignoring my responsibilities and posting this thing I made in under an hour with only one read through for spell checks. Sorry in advance. Anyway, hope you enjoy this!

Zuko slammed the door into Katara's room, finding her casually drying her hair in her vanity, and motioning to brush it as if nothing happened. As if she wasn’t almost killed just an hour ago. He is immensely relieved that she is safe and appeared to be unharmed (at least, not anymore, he figured she have healed herself), but that feeling disappeared as soon as it came. Replacing it was anger and worry that plagued his soul.

“What the hell were you thinking?” He growled.

Katara sighed, still brushing her hair, but meeting his eyes over her mirror. “Good evening to you too, Zuko. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Do you have any idea how I felt when the messenger came in the middle of a meeting saying you showed up at the palace after what was supposed to be a routine trip to the market, hours after your usual time, leaning on a city guard, bloodied up and looking worse for wear?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “I wanted to leave that meeting, but I couldn’t without insulting the Earth Kingdom dignitaries in the room. And then I sent you some healers only to find out later that you kicked them all out.”

“I did not kick _all_ of them out,” she huffed. “I kept Akira. I just didn’t let her heal me. But she stayed in the room to make sure I didn’t pass out.”

He did not need to be reminded how her bond with his head healer has allowed her to get away with stuffs like this. The damn woman is too fond of her to go against her wishes, and she knew well enough that Katara could handle herself if she said so. Still, he was irritated that she exerted herself more by healing rather than getting some rest and letting someone else heal her.

“Katara you infiltrated a rebel meeting with no preparation and took out twenty men by yourself before guards caught the commotion and helped you take care of the rest, when you were supposed to be shopping for a new bead. A _bead_ , Katara. How in the name of the Spirits did _buying_ _a bead_ turn into taking out _a whole branch of rebellion by yourself?_ ” he demanded.

She finally put her brush down and turned around to look at him properly. Now he can see the strain in her face, even though it was overshadowed by the fierce determination in her eyes. “I took care of the problem, didn’t I? I got away just fine.”

He pulled on his hair and growled in frustration. “You got _lucky_ , Katara. I know how strong you are, but even you would be exhausted fighting off thirty trained men by yourself. If the guards haven’t heard the noise, you don’t know what could happen. They wouldn’t even have heard the voice if a merchant wasn’t cursing a crate out of place and notified them of an unusual occurrence. They found you barely able to lift your hands with ten people still surrounding you. You were _lucky_ , and that’s all there is to it.”

This time, Katara didn’t have an answer. She knew he was right, to an extent, though she is loath to admit it. At those last moments before the door burst open, she was on her last leg of strength, pushing on only by the sheer will of her stubbornness. She knew well that could’ve been her death, especially since she was running out of water, but she had just found the group who were behind Zuko’s last assassination attempt. And by what she overheard, was putting the next one into motion. She couldn’t just stand by and let it happen. She figured that if she took out even half of them, their process would’ve been hindered significantly enough to at least halt their planning by a few days. She would’ve gotten out of there if that one thug didn’t catch her by surprise and knocked her out of balance.

But she is not backing down from her decision. She knew it was pretty foolish, but it was the only thing she could think of at the time. She glared right back at Zuko, whose anger is starting to ebb away into concern and worry. Katara hated that she’s the one adding that burden to him, but she is trying hard to justify it by reasoning that because of what she did, he had one less rebel group to worry about. She’s starting to lose her conviction.

Zuko looked at her dejectedly and sighed. “At least tell me why? Why did you do it?”

“Do you really have to ask?” She countered.

“Yes, I have to ask. I need to know why you think that sacrificing yourself like that would make me safer. Katara, if you died, I would break. Not only me, but your family too. I don’t understand why you put yourself in this position time and time again. I’m not worth it, Katara, I’m not worth your life,” he said.

“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have time for your inferiority complex, Zuko—”

“No, Katara. This is not about me. I don’t get why you couldn’t have called for backup if you thought something was wrong. You knew that place had guards stationed nearby. You didn’t have to march in there, at least not alone. You could’ve had someone back you up. I know that you and I are probably the two most stubborn people we know, but I know you. You never would have rushed into something like this before. Why did you do it?” he demanded again.

“Because I was angry, Zuko!” she exploded. “I was angry, and scared and if you heard what they were talking about, you would be too. The only thing I knew was that I had to stop it from happening. You’re right, I don’t have to do this. But you are my _best friend_ who I would gladly lay my life for. And you know what? Fourteen-year-old Katara who runs headfirst into battle would never think of doing something this stupid either. But you have somehow wormed your way into my life and ended up becoming one of my closest confidants in just a few short months. And you made fifteen-year-old Katara love you as her friend,” she stood up.

“And now you’re this accomplished man who is changing the world and helping maintain the peace we could live in. You continued to be the best friend I could ever ask for, and your kindness and strength is what the world sorely needs. And when I overheard what they were planning, I couldn’t let them take you away from this world. From _me_. So, I did what I did, because this is me, twenty-five-year-old Katara, desperately in love with her best friend even though all logic told her not to. And yes, it may have been selfish of me, but I can’t live in a world where you’re not there.” The words tumbled out of her mouth before her brain could catch up.

“What?” Zuko gaped at her, eyes widening as if he couldn’t believe what was happening.

Her heart broke a little at his reaction, but she couldn’t blame him. She always knew that him returning her feelings was too much of a stretch, and she has accepted it. She still couldn’t believe she actually said it out loud, but now that it’s out, she can’t hold it in any longer. “I didn’t expect to fall in love with you, Zuko, but I did. Spirits, I didn’t even realize I was doing it until it was too late,” she gave him a sad smile, and continued. “After I realized it, I tried so hard to make the feelings go away, because being with you the way I want to? That’s just wishful thinking. You are the Fire Lord, and you have responsibilities to your nation. And I would just be a hindrance to what you could accomplish.”

Zuko was still in shock, but her last words snapped him out of his reverie. “How could you say that? You have never hindered me in any way. You pushed me to be better. You helped me be the man I am now. And if my nation is what you were worried about, they love you. Don’t you see their faces when you visit hospitals or walk around the market?” He is choosing to ignore the implications of what he was saying, but he has a feeling it would come up soon anyway.

“Being loved as an ambassador and healer is one thing, Zuko. Being a Fire Lady is an entirely different thing. Because that’s what it will come down to. If you let me, I don’t want to take half measures. I want to have it all, your good and bad. How do you think your people will react if their Fire Lord is courting a Water Tribe peasant? Because you need to remember, that your people aren’t only the commoners I see out there. The nobles whose majority have only tolerated me at best and want me dead at worst are part of your country too.” She insisted.

“Katara, screw everyone else. Don’t think about them right now. What I want to think about is you— _us_. Are you sure you love me? I don’t think I deserve it.”

She scoffed. “Idiot, here we go again with your stupid inferiority complex. Of course, I love you. I literally just told you a smidge of why I do. But if you want me to, I will be there for you and show you that I love you until you get it through that thick skull of yours that you deserve the love of a lifetime. But as I said, being with me would just burden you, so I never told you. Your life is hard enough as it is, you don’t need to have my stupid feelings on your conscience too.” She finished with a lump in her throat from her confession.

Zuko took a step forward and slowly traced his fingers over her cheek and cupped her jaw. “Do you really not know?” His thumb ran circles on her cheekbones.

Katara felt a jolt of electricity from the touch, and his question isn’t making it easier. “Know what?”

“Katara, my best friend. The person I trust most in the entire world.” He tipped her chin up and looked straight into her eyes, gathering up the courage to say what he wanted to for so long. He nearly pig-chickened out, but if she can do it, so can he. “I’ve been in love with you for so long, I can’t even remember when I started. I never said anything because you deserve a life you made for yourself. You’ve told me enough times about how you hate the expectations people put on you, so I resigned myself to never telling you how I feel, because I don’t want you to feel like you have to love me just because I loved you.”

She stared at him in awe for a moment before laughing at his admission. “Tui and La, what a pair we make. We could’ve avoided all this had we just have the guts to talk and not make assumptions.”

“Well, there is no one more stubborn than us, is there?” He smiled down at her.

“I guess not,” she sniffled. “What now?”

“To be honest, my mind is still stuck on you saying that you loved me. And how it includes the very real possibility of you being my wife, my Fire Lady.”

Katara cringed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t make assumptions. We literally just talked about how we feel, and I know you have councilmembers to worry about and I don’t even know if you would be willing to take it that far—"

“Stop. I want to see it through too. Agni, Katara, if I told you how many times I’ve indulged myself in thinking of a life with you, I’d probably die of embarrassment. Every time my advisor brought up marriage to me, all I can picture is your damn face and then I would immediately get all flustered.”

She blushed at his admission, touched that he’s probably entertained the idea as much as she had. But her doubts came creeping back in and she can’t help but voice her concerns. “But what about your people, Zuko? Your council? Like I said, I’m practically nobody in their eyes. And I’ve seen how they throw their women at you. They’d curse me into the next century for taking away their most eligible bachelor and curse you for not marrying their family.”

He tsked. “And like _I_ said, I don’t care about them. Yes, they would be a problem, and I’m sorry to say that there will always be a problem one way or another. But if you really want to do this with me, Katara, then I want to give this a real chance. We can convince them. Besides, I can confidently say that at least my health and education ministers love you. I love you, and only you. I don’t think I could love anyone else. You know I tried courting some of the noblewomen, right?” She nodded, not knowing where he was going with this.

“Well, I never really compared them to you, because honestly most of the time I haven’t realized I was in love with you yet. But no matter where and when, you are always the first person on my mind, always the first face I seek in a room. When I thought of a stupid joke, you’re always the first one I wanted to tell. When a minister makes a careless comment, I always turn around to see your reaction, only to see that you’re not there. And when anything happened, I couldn’t wait to retire to my rooms and write it all down for my next letter to you. I love hearing from you, I love laughing with you, I love looking at you, I love when you come to me with your problems, I love how you tear into idiot politicians, I love how you care about everyone, dammit Katara, I love _you_. And these past months of you living here as ambassador, I didn’t know how I kept myself from blurting that out every minute I’m with you.

“Look, I don’t know how exactly we’ll do this, but we’ll make it work. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my entire life. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together. I will always be by your side. Because I’m all in, Katara, with everything I am,” he finished.

“All in,” she echoed. “Spirits, when did you become the optimist out of the two of us?”

He smirked. “Probably when I found out I have a chance with you. No way am I going to let that go. I love you,” he declared. “Agni, it feels so good to say that out loud. I love you. I love you, and I will always love you.”

“I love you too. I love you so much, Zuko.”

“I know.”

“Do you really?”

“Honestly, not yet, I think I’m still in shock. But I’m sure it will catch up to me soon.”

“So, are we really doing this? Courting, with intent of, uh, marriage?”

“If you want to. Spirits know I want to.”

“I want to. With you. I can’t imagine wanting this with anyone else.”

“Okay, it’s settled then. We’ll tell everyone in the morning,” he kissed her forehead.

She snorted. “I’m pretty sure our friends already know. I mean come on, Toph is literally a walking lie detector, Suki leads arguably the most elite warrior group on earth and have done countless intelligence missions, Sokka is not only my only brother _and_ your closest friend, but also entirely smarter than he presents himself to be, and Aang might be the youngest of us but he could be the wisest when it counts and knows more about everything than he lets on.”

“They are too perceptive for their own good, aren’t they?” He chuckled, but then sobered up at the implications of the word everyone. “And your dad? Will he—? I think he likes me enough as your friend and as a leader, but I don’t know how he will like me as someone who is totally in love with his daughter. I know we don’t need his permission to do anything, but his approval would mean a lot to me.”

Katara knows why it meant so much to him. His own father never approved of him. His uncle loved him like a son, and he treasured that, but if they marry, her father would be his too, and she’s sure he would want a chance of a good relationship with another father figure.

“Zuko, you busted him and his now daughter-in-law out of prison with my brother when you were sixteen. You continued to maintain peace in the world, and you advocated for us when your ministers wouldn’t stand for the reparation treaties, and for countless other people you defended who didn’t have the voice to do so themselves. You’ve always treated me well, and he values your opinions. He loves you.”

His heart swelled at her words, and he thinks that they might just be okay.

“Good, because I really truly love you, and someday, if you still love me, I would be honored to marry you.”

She giggled at the use of the word honor and was very tempted to tease him about it. But they had a more pressing matter at hand. “Hmm, kinda too early propose to me when you haven’t even kissed me, don’t you think?”

“What are you talking about? I’m kissing you right now.” He smirked at her and proceeded to kiss all over her face but the place she wanted it most. He kissed her cheek, her eyelids, her forehead, her nose, her chin. But when he kissed the corner of her lips and moved away, she’s had enough.

“Zuko, stop playing and kiss me right now or I swear I will leave,” she grumbled.

Well, who is he to deny her wishes? He answered her threat by putting his hand on the small of her back and re-placing the other on her jaw. When their lips pressed, it felt like coming home. They still have a lot to talk about and obstacles to overcome, but they know that they will fight for this with everything they have.

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my native language, so I apologize for any grammar and spelling errors. Also, sorry if the title did not match the story, but I really didn't know what to name it and Beyoncé came on so I thought I'd go with the queen. I would really appreciate any feedback you might have. And if you have a recommendation on websites for checks and writing exercises, it would be most welcome. Thank you for reading!


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